Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Arrangements for the second half of the year (2 in 1)…
[Chapter 73, Changes]
The campus drama "Confession Letter" performed unexpectedly well. After a week of serialization, it actually ranked first in daily viewing volume during the summer season.
Fans of the drama said: It’s all thanks to the support of peers!
Those fantasy dramas with gorgeous special effects and melodramatic plots have long made the audience aesthetically fatigued. This year, even the combination of gorgeous special effects and top-tier actors didn’t work, and the movie still flopped due to poor plot.
FTM was really lucky this time. A random OST they sang became a big hit. The number of collections on music platforms topped the list of all TV drama OSTs during this summer vacation.
Summer vacation is the main battlefield for movies and TV series. There are no new or hot events in the music industry, so it seems very calm.
Until the morning of August 4, a piece of news broke like a bombshell, shattering the apparent peace.
Xie Shiqi: "Thank you @Shengyao Media for your training and support over the years. The contract has expired and will not be renewed. I wish you all the best in the future. I wish Shengyao Media will prosper."
Shengyao reposted her Weibo: "It is an honor to have walked with Shiqi for ten years. I wish Shiqi a bright future."
The entry #Xie Shiqi leaves Shengyao# was pushed to the top of the hot search list, and the influence of the queen of the music world really caused a sensation.
"Fuck! Sister Shiqi has left Shengyao!"
"I heard Shengyao has a lot of rules and the company's commission is outrageous. It's good to leave and be free!"
“Isn’t it normal not to renew the contract when it expires?”
"Celebrate together! Congratulations to Sister Shiqi for her freedom!"
It is quite common in the entertainment industry for artists not to renew their contracts with their original companies when their contracts expire, but Fang Yinnian did not expect that Xie Shiqi would leave Shengyao.
As a fan of Tse Shi Qi, he of course knew that Tse Shi Qi was discovered by Shengyao and signed with Shengyao when she was an unknown company, staying there for a full ten years. He thought that Shi Qi had a good relationship with the company and that was why she signed the ten-year contract.
He ended up leaving Sungyo after ten years of debut. Was it because they failed to negotiate the terms of the contract renewal? Or does she want to open her own studio?
Fang Yinnian and Xie Shiqi had a very pleasant chat at the celebration party and added each other as friends. Xie Shiqi even said that she would be a guest at their concert in the future.
So, it should be okay to ask privately after seeing the trending search, right? Fang Yinnian boldly sent a message to Xie Shiqi: "Sister Shiqi, I saw the trending search, have you terminated your contract with the company?"
Xie Shiqi quickly replied: "Yes, I am free again~"
Fang Yinnian was stunned - regain freedom? Is she not free when she is in the company?
Xie Shiqi said: "I plan to open my own studio. I've been too tired these years, and I'm not that short of money now. I'll give myself a month's vacation and start preparing for the world tour in September."
Fang Yinnian: "Sister Shiqi, have a good rest. I wish you a smooth tour^^"
Xie Shiqi said: "Thank you, you guys should keep up the good work too [flowers]."
She didn't say much, and Fang Yinnian didn't dare to ask her if she had any conflicts with the company.
He came to the restaurant to have breakfast with his teammates.
As usual, Tan Junwen glanced at the stock trading app Flush on his mobile phone, and was surprised to find that the Shengyao Media shares he had bought before had hit the limit down at the opening of the market today.
Tan Junwen was stunned: "What the hell? What's going on?"
He quickly opened his phone and showed it to everyone: "Brothers, do you still remember the Shengyao stocks I bought?"
After the financial settlement at the beginning of the year, everyone received a sum of money. Tan Junwen said at the time that he wanted to invest in stocks, but was persuaded by Mo Xun and Tang Che.
Later, he said that he only put in a little pocket money to test the waters. Fang Yinnian remembered this incident and raised his eyes and asked, "What's wrong, Junwen? Did you lose money buying stocks? How much did you lose?"
Fu Fei joked, "It's okay, Junwen brother, don't be sad, I'll sing you a song "Don't Cry", and I'll make it back later."
Tan Junwen slapped him on the back of his head and said, "It's not a question of whether it's a loss or not. Shengyao's stock price suddenly hit the limit down. There must be a big change in the company. This is what I'm worried about!"
Tang Che guessed: "Could it be related to Xie Shiqi's leaving Shengyao?"
Tan Junwen frowned. "When an artist leaves after their contract expires, the stock of their management company shouldn't drop to the limit, right? I don't think the problem is that simple."
Several people looked at each other in bewilderment.
As a well-known listed company in the industry, Shengyao Media has a large lineup of singers. In addition to FTM, there are also several ace singers such as Xie Shiqi, He Yan, Tao Yizhou, Black Sky Band and a large number of second- and third-tier singers.
Mo Xun said calmly: "The stocks of listed companies are affected by many factors. Maybe there are changes in the top management, or the company lost money in other projects?"
He looked at Tan Junwen and said, "Junwen, you should sell your stocks quickly. Don't play with it anymore. It's so scary."
Tan Junwen scratched his hair and said, "I won't sell it. I don't have much money anyway. I'll wait and see for two days."
Just as he finished speaking, Mo Xun's phone suddenly rang. He picked up the call: "Brother Xu... now? OK."
Mo Xun put down his phone and said, "Everyone, hurry up and eat. Our agent has summoned us back to the company for a meeting."
After wolfing down their breakfast, they trotted to the meeting room on the tenth floor of Building A of the company.
Xu Baichuan took out five contracts and handed them to five people, saying, "Come, read the contracts and sign them. I'll show you the new variety show you'll take on."
Fang Yinnian looked down at the contract. His contract was for him to be a permanent guest on "Time Records". What surprised him was that the name of the permanent guest on the contract was not "FTM Group" but "Fang Yinnian".
Fang Yinnian was stunned. Was he going alone?
He subconsciously looked towards Mo Xun, and happened to meet Mo Xun's gaze - obviously, Mo Xun's contract was also wrong.
Mo Xun asked bluntly: "Brother Xu, are we going to split up the group? Should I go to Street Dance of China alone?"
Xu Baichuan said: "Yes. You have received too many invitations to variety shows. If five of you were to be permanent guests together, the publicity would be limited."
"Also, when it comes to the appearance fees for variety shows, if you hire a group as a permanent guest, the price is quoted as a group. For example, the permanent guest of Tianlaizhiyin is 2 million per person, and the group price for the five of you is 4 million, which means 800,000 per person. After deducting the company's commission, there won't be much left."
"And if the five of you split up, you can appear on five different variety shows at the same time and get paid as individual guests. As long as you carry the FTM label, you can increase your popularity fivefold. Do you understand what I mean?"
The five of them looked at each other and quickly understood what the agent meant.
As a group, the five of them can only appear on one show at the same time, affecting only the audience of this show, and the appearance fee they receive is also the group price.
If promoted separately, the traffic would be five times greater. Maybe Fang Yinnian will appear on Nanxing TV today, Mo Xun will appear on Yuntu TV tomorrow, and Junwen will appear on Dongyang TV the day after tomorrow...
Frequent face scanning is very helpful in increasing the popularity of FTM. Moreover, everyone gets their own appearance fee and does not need to share it with teammates.
FTM has become popular, and now all we need to do is expand the circle.
Disbanding the group is indeed the quickest way.
However, the five of them have been used to acting as a group since their debut, and they were unsure about suddenly venturing into the entertainment industry on their own.
Xu Baichuan briefly introduced: "Yin Nian went to "Time Records" and Tang Che went to "Yin Yue Tai". These two programs are not competitive, so they don't need to be mentors. They just prepare a song carefully for each episode, so there is not much pressure."
"Mo Xun will go to Street Dance of China, Junwen will go to The Rap of China, and Xiaofei will go to Idol Producer as a regular. These three are competitive programs, and you three will be assistant mentors if you are more humble."
"Although these variety shows are not first-tier in terms of influence, the quotes given to you are quite high. Take this opportunity to make more money." He paused and joked, "Of course, I also get commissions. Gong Zhonghao was stunned."
Several people laughed.
It is a rule known to everyone in the industry that agents receive commissions from projects, so some selfish agents will arrange for artists to take on programs they don’t like, or even force them to take on dramas they don’t want to act in, just to get commissions.
Their agent has been very good to them since their debut, caring about them like a class teacher, so everyone still trusts Brother Xu very much.
Mo Xun said simply, "That's it. We will split up the group in the second half of the year, and the five of us will go to different shows to show our faces."
The captain spoke, and the others had no objections. They roughly read the terms of the contract and signed their names.
Xu Baichuan said: "The main announcement for the second half of the year will be your respective variety shows. I will find five assistants to accompany you in recording the shows. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me."
Fang Yinnian: “…”
For some reason he suddenly felt uneasy.
The group was disbanded to record variety shows, and each member went to different shows as a guest. Other idol boy groups in the domestic entertainment industry also did this.
But… they’ve only released one album.
Logically, shouldn't you continue working on the second album, accumulate more songs, and then prepare for the concert?
Fang Yinnian didn’t quite understand Xu Baichuan’s planning ideas. But he keenly noticed that his agent was not in a very good mood today. He kept checking his phone to reply to messages with a frown on his face.
In the afternoon, Fang Yinnian boldly sent a message to Xu Baichuan: "Brother Xu, I have something I want to discuss with you alone. Are you free this afternoon?"
Xu Baichuan said: "Come to my office at 3 pm."
At 3 pm, Fang Yinnian arrived at Xu Baichuan's personal office on time. As soon as he entered the room, he felt that the atmosphere was a little strange.
Xu Baichuan was on the phone and pointed to the sofa and asked Fang Yinnian to sit down first.
Fang Yinnian heard his low voice: "Boss Zhao, I really can't let them go. If I leave now, won't it be a failure? Thank you for your recognition, Boss Zhao. Haha, okay... Let's work together again in the future. Okay, goodbye."
Mr. Zhao? Is it Mr. Zhao, the CEO of Shengyao?
Fang Yinnian sat on the sofa nervously.
Xu Baichuan hung up the phone, pinched his brows, and said, "It's Lao Zhao's call... Oh, by the way, did you know that Mr. Zhao resigned?"
Fang Yinnian was stunned: "Ah? I don't know."
Xu Baichuan said: "The President's Office just sent an internal document today, and Shengyao's CEO was replaced by Zhou Haoran. You probably didn't pay attention to the company's internal mailbox. Forget it, this matter has nothing to do with you, so don't pay attention to it."
Fang Yinnian: “…”
Could it be that today’s stock limit down is related to changes in senior management?
Xu Baichuan looked at Fang Yinnian and asked, "What do you want from me?"
Fang Yinnian said, "Oh, that's right. I've written a few more songs recently, one of which is a harmony song for FTM, and two personal singles. Do we have any plans to record new songs in the second half of the year?"
He clenched his fingers nervously and said, "Of course, the songs I wrote are not as good as those written by Teacher Yu. But, I played them to them and they all liked them very much. They are wondering when they can record them."
Xu Baichuan pondered for a moment and said, "Your schedule in the second half of the year is very full. How about this? You give the song to me first, and I'll see how to squeeze out time for you to record it."
Fang Yinnian immediately handed him the USB drive: "Thank you, Brother Xu!"
Xu Baichuan looked at Fang Yinnian's shining eyes, his heart softened slightly, he stood up and patted Fang Yinnian on the shoulder: "Hey, Yinnian, actually you can develop solo right now, but I don't want FTM to disband so early, so the five of you should try it alone for a while."
Fang Yinnian's heart was shaken: "What...disband?"
This word confused his mind, because he never thought that FTM would disband. They have only been in the industry for two years?
Xu Baichuan said: "I insist on not disbanding FTM, but the top management had very different opinions at the meeting today."
He hesitated for a moment, looking very embarrassed: "The company has undergone many changes recently. Shengyao trained you not to help you realize your dreams, but for more benefits."
"You five together can't maximize profits. One cash cow won't make as much money as five... Do you understand what I mean?"
Fang Yinnian fell silent.
Yes, the five of them appear on variety shows and take endorsements together, but they can only get one share of the money as a “group”. But once it acts independently, the company's revenue will increase fivefold.
Behind the company is capital, and businessmen of course value profits the most.
In the same period of time, if the income is 4 million or 10 million, the company can take 80% of the profit. You can easily tell which one to choose.
Therefore, after Mr. Zhou took office, Xu Baichuan suddenly asked FTM to disband the group. It was obvious that the top management put a lot of KPI pressure on him to make FTM make more money in the second half of the year.
Fang Yinnian's eyes were sore: "Then... we won't record the second album? We still want to sing more songs and have more stages."
Xu Baichuan sighed: "I'm sorry, I tried my best to get it. I had already planned the second album, but the proposal was not approved."
"Recording an album is a waste of time and energy. You have to stay at home for at least three months to practice harmony and dancing..."
Xu Baichuan smiled bitterly and said, "Shengyao is not my company alone, and I am just an employee. You are very popular now, and many issues concerning you need to be discussed in the meeting. I cannot make decisions alone."
Fang Yinnian: “…………”
Xu Baichuan said: "The above means to maximize the interests of FTM. Now the company's top management has changed and the management has been replaced. I can't go against the new leader for the time being. Let's wait and find a solution later."
Fang Yinnian had no choice but to nod: "Yeah."
Xu Baichuan gently rubbed his hair: "Don't worry, I will try my best to protect your group. After all, the music group is also my hard work."
Fang Yinnian returned to the dormitory with a heavy heart.
Xiaofei was playing games in the living room without a care in the world, Junwen was lying on the sofa browsing Weibo, Mo Xun was watching videos on a tablet computer, and Tang Che was drinking tea in the restaurant.
Fang Yinnian changed into slippers and couldn't help feeling a little sad. After they disbanded the group in the second half of the year, it would be difficult for the five of them to get together, right? Will we be able to see such a heartwarming scene again in the future?
Tang Che noticed that he was in a bad mood and asked, "What's wrong, Yinnian? What did you talk about with your agent? Didn't it go well?"
Fang Yinnian said, "Brother Xu said that Mr. Zhao has resigned, and Shengyao's management has undergone a major change. The top management wants to maximize our interests."
Upon hearing this, Fu Fei immediately paused the game: "What? A change in management?"
Tan Junwen also sat up straight in an instant: "Could this be the reason why Shengyao's stock price fell to the limit?"
Tang Che frowned: "Why did Mr. Zhao leave when he was fine? The last time I saw him at the Golden Melody Awards, he was still chatting and laughing with the artists."
Everyone was full of doubts.
Mo Xun asked in a low voice: "Is it Mr. Zhou who has taken over?"
Fang Yinnian nodded: "Yes."
Tan Junwen scratched his head and said, "Boss Zhou... is he the one who tried his best to get us both drunk at the Golden Melody Awards celebration banquet?"
Mo Xun said: "Yes, he was the vice president before."
Tan Junwen couldn't help but curse: "What a smiling tiger! I felt at the time that this person was very cunning and scheming. He said nice things, but he didn't drink much himself, but he made us drink a lot of wine."
Mo Xun said seriously, "Actually, when I returned to China, I asked a senior in the industry to do some research on Shengyao. There have always been two factions within Shengyao. One faction is led by Mr. Zhao, who focuses on music production and wants to gain a foothold in the music industry by relying on the quality of his songs."
"The other faction is Mr. Zhou's faction. They are better at marketing hype and want to make more money by relying on the popularity of marketing. Tao Yizhou is the most successful case they have packaged."
"The two factions have been fighting overtly and covertly, and the interests of many major shareholders are involved behind the scenes. This time, President Zhao resigned, and it seems that President Zhou won the shareholders' meeting. The new official will definitely make drastic reforms when he takes office."
"We are his first cut."
Several people looked at each other in bewilderment.
They had heard about the struggle among the company's top executives before, but they didn't know the details. They didn't expect Mo Xun to know more.
Fang Yinnian guessed, "So this is probably the reason why Xie Shiqi left. He is an artist from Mr. Zhao's faction. Mr. Zhao might also want to poach Brother Xu. I heard Brother Xu talking to him on the phone today."
The big boss will definitely start his own business after leaving. He wanted to poach Xu Baichuan, but Xu Baichuan did not leave for the time being because he could not let go of FTM.
Mo Xun said, "Boss Zhao and Brother Xu do have a very good relationship. In fact, the plan for the establishment of FTM was discussed many times at the company meeting. There was a lot of controversy, and it was Boss Zhao who made the final decision in the end."
Everyone suddenly realized.
There is no precedent for harmony groups in the domestic entertainment industry, and those who value profit will definitely think that they cannot make money. Finally, thanks to Xu Baichuan's persistence and Mr. Zhao's support, the project plan was successfully passed.
However, due to the disagreement between the two factions, in order to appease the other faction, President Zhao asked them to debut early. FTM made its debut in a hurry less than a month after being formed, becoming the largest makeshift team in the history of domestic entertainment.
Everything is right...
It turns out that their group has encountered many twists and turns since its inception.
Now, Mr. Zhao has resigned and a leader from another faction has become the company's CEO, and the five people suddenly became nervous.
Fu Fei looked at his teammates in panic: "The big boss who supported us is gone, will our group be affected?"
Tang Che said calmly, "In the second half of the year, we will disband the group and go our separate ways to earn more money for the company. We may also be allowed to take on more endorsements to make up for the company's losses."
Tan Junwen was surprised and asked, "Loss? How do you know?"
Tang Che looked at him helplessly: "Publicly listed companies have to release financial reports every quarter. Today you mentioned that Shengyao's stock price hit the limit down. I checked the financial report online and found that Shengyao lost 100 million in the first half of the year."
He paused and speculated, "Maybe this is also the reason why President Zhao stepped down? The company has been losing money during his tenure."
Fu Fei looked terrified: "Damn it, you guys are making me more and more scared! What if Shengyao goes bankrupt, what will we do?"
Mo Xun patted his shoulder and said, "Shengyao is a listed company. It's not that easy for it to go bankrupt. It's just a personnel change."
Mo Xun looked at his teammates and whispered, "Don't worry. Our FTM is so popular that the company won't let us disband. Recording variety shows separately should just be a delaying tactic by Brother Xu to deal with the higher-ups."
The captain's words made everyone feel at ease.
FTM is already a top group in the domestic entertainment industry. If the company really forces them to disband, the fans will definitely boycott it wildly, and the Shengyao Building may be surrounded by fans by then.
Therefore, it is impossible for the top management to easily make a decision on something that affects the foundation... they still have time.
Fang Yin said in a young voice: "Let's cooperate with the agent's arrangement first. Although we will be recording variety shows separately in the second half of the year, we can still perform together in programs such as the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala."
The teammates nodded one after another: "This is the only way."
Fang Yinnian originally thought that since FTM’s first album had achieved such great results, their development would be smoother, and they would release their second and third albums, hold concerts in first-tier cities, and then go on a national tour.
It seems that his idea is still too simple.
Holding concerts and being a singer are his dreams, not the company's. In the eyes of capital, musical dreams and album quality are secondary - money is the most important thing.
The fastest way to make money in the entertainment industry is variety shows.
The variety show is aired once a week, and the appearance fee for each episode is equivalent to if they sing a song together, and the money earned by permanent guests will be even more.
Many actors in the entertainment industry have entered the variety show industry, and after experiencing the joy of making quick money, they have even given up acting.
FTM is so popular now that they have countless invitations to variety shows. If the five of them take on variety shows separately, they can maximize their profits and make the most money for the company in the short term.
As for the long-term development prospects of the group and the members’ dreams... the company doesn’t care.
Fang Yinnian returned to his bedroom in a depressed mood.
Mo Xun also came in. Seeing him lower his head and look depressed, Mo Xun's heart softened and he whispered, "Yinnian, don't be afraid."
Fang Yinnian raised his head and looked at him, his eyes becoming more and more sour: "Can Brother Xu really save our group?"
"Recording variety shows separately is just the beginning. I can guess that once the company tastes the sweetness of profits brought by variety shows, they will definitely let us continue to perform variety shows separately to make more money for the company."
"FTM gradually became a band in name only. We can no longer sing, dance and record albums as seriously as before."
“But I still want to hold a concert…”
"When will the concert of the five of us be possible?"
Mo Xun suddenly stretched out his arms and hugged him.
Fang Yinnian's back suddenly stiffened, but he was in a very bad mood today, and he was reluctant to push away Mo Xun's warm hug.
Mo Xun gently rubbed his hair as if to comfort him, and whispered: "Don't be afraid, we are only 20 years old, there is still a lot of time in the future."
Fang Yinnian suppressed the soreness in his eyes and gently pushed Mo Xun away.
Mo Xun asked: "When does your contract with Shengyao expire?"
Fang Yinnian was stunned for a moment, and said, "I signed for five years, what about you?"
Mo Xun said, "Me too. The five-year contract was actually proposed by Brother Xu and I. I was the first person to be confirmed by the music group. After Shengyao signed me back from KET in South Korea, they directly made me the captain."
"Generally, idols must sign for eight years or more, but I insisted on signing for five years. I even argued with the company for a long time."
"Finally, Brother Xu came forward and took me to discuss some conditions with President Zhao. We signed a full contract. The company would take 80% of all profits from film, television, variety shows, and business. Only then was the final contract template for FTM finalized."
Fang Yinnian: “…”
Is it really like this? He only knew that Mo Xun was the first captain appointed by FTM, but what he didn't expect was that the five-year contract of FTM was actually negotiated by Mo Xun and the top management of Shengyao.
Not only did he sign a five-year contract himself, he also let his teammates do the same, getting the rare five-year contract.
People are selfish. Even without knowing them yet, Mo Xun also fought for the interests of his teammates.
This is really rare.
I really fell in love with a very reliable person.
Fang Yinnian took a deep breath and asked, "You signed for five years. Are you thinking of changing your career to become an actor after five years?"
Mo Xun nodded: "There is this reason. Shengyao is a music company, and its film and television resources are very poor. The full contract I signed with Shengyao will not be good for my development if it is too long."
"Also, I was thinking that if several teammates develop solo in the future, they can sign shorter contracts. Those who want to renew their contracts can get a better salary, and those who don't want to renew their contracts can become free agents."
"Singyao is a big company. They only want artists who make money and obey their orders. They don't respect our individual ideas too much."
"So Yinnian, don't be sad. Our contract with Shengyao is only five years, and two years have already passed. I plan to seize this time to make a name for myself, and then go out and open my own studio in the future."
"You...you want to open your own studio?" Fang Yinnian widened his eyes slightly. Is it the same as Sister Shiqi?
However, Mo Xun has no resources and no background in the circle... Wait, five years after his debut, will Mo Xun still have no resources and no background?
By then, Mo Xun should also be able to work on his own without being controlled by the company.
Mo Xun looked at Fang Yinnian and asked softly, "Yinnian, if I leave Shengyao at that time, will you be willing to come with me?"
“……” Fang Yinnian’s heart began to beat violently.
When he first met Mo Xun, he felt that this boy was a responsible and capable person who had plans for the future.
Mo Xun wants to open his own studio?
In that case, they will no longer be subject to the constraints and pressure from the company, and they can do whatever they want.
You can be your own boss and have enough say. You don't have to go to shows you don't like, you can record as many songs as you want, and you can decide when to release an album without going through the company's approval process.
Once they are financially free, they can even lie back and take several months off without any worries... That's truly a godly life, right?
No wonder so many artists in the domestic entertainment industry open their own studios after becoming famous. Who would be willing to work for others when they can be their own boss?
But working on your own also requires courage.
Fang Yinnian’s heartbeat became more and more intense.
Mo Xun told him the secret plan of "going out on his own after the contract expires" and invited him...
How could he bear to refuse?
Fang Yinnian looked at Mo Xun and said seriously: "If that day really comes, I am willing to go with you."
Mo Xun hugged Fang Yinnian excitedly: "Great! I have only told you about this in private. It will take a long time to figure out how to implement it. However, the news must not leak out."
Fang Yinnian nodded: "I understand."
Once the company's top management knows that they are going to run away when their contracts expire, they might deliberately find something to hold against them and then force them to not renew their contracts.
There are countless artists in the entertainment industry who have been caught by their management companies and forced to follow the companies' arrangements.
They are not yet able to compete with Shengyao.
"I will also find a chance to test the attitudes of Junwen Tangche and Xiaofei. My idea is that it would be best if the five of us go together."
"Then we can be our own boss and do whatever we want. No one can interfere with us anymore."
He paused, looked at Fang Yinnian, his eyes gentle: "The road ahead is still long, let's go on together, okay?"
As Fang Yinnian listened to the familiar voice, his heart was gradually filled with warmth, and his gloomy mood was swept away.
He finally smiled, looked at Mo Xun, and said firmly: "Okay!"
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